


Wouldn't It Be Nice

by daisygrl



Category: Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (TV 2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/F, Fluff, it's got gay loneliness, it's got lesbians, it's got nostalgia, most importantly it's got a happy ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-22
Updated: 2019-07-22
Packaged: 2020-07-10 15:43:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19908160
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daisygrl/pseuds/daisygrl
Summary: Based on a post about the song "Wouldn't It Be Nice" by the Beach Boys, 'cause it really does hit different when you're gay. Imagine young Zelda and Lilith sharing a cigarette at a house party as this song floats through the window.





	Wouldn't It Be Nice

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to Kaylee for getting riled up over this concept with me!!

July 1970

Dinky twinkle lights hung from the dripping trees. The night was sweltering, humid, and Zelda stood on the porch, snaking her body around the window so she would be hidden from view. Gloomy, golden light escaped through the dusty panes and met the smoke climbing out of her cigarette. It created a strange haze that bled into the blue night, already permeated with the scent of magnolia blossoms. She took a shaky breath and drew the cigarette to her lips. She was angry in a way that could only be assuaged by doing something that hurt. And so she finished her pack, delighting in the noxious burning sensation in her throat and lungs. He had done it again. Every time she asked to be left alone, every time she tried to explain that he wasn't what she wanted and never would be, he took it as an invitation to push further. Years ago she had had a boy throw a drink in her face and call her a name. She never forgot it. She took a sip of wine, choking slightly at the acrid, lazy purple that couldn't seem to claw its way down her burnt throat. 

"What are you doing out here?" Zelda nearly dropped her cigarette. Lilith made her way around up the porch steps, plunking herself down heavily on the porch swing beside Zelda. Her boots echoed on the weathered floorboards and her dark, wiry hair brushed Zelda's arm slightly, sending a jolt reverberating through her entire body.

Zelda cleared her throat and wiped her eyes. "Nothing. I was enjoying the peace and quiet." Lilith looked up at her and smiled, enjoying the playfulness of Zelda's retort. Her electric eyes crinkled slightly at the corners, and suddenly Zelda wanted nothing more than to run her thumb over her laugh-lines and kiss the warm spot at the temple just beside them. _Shut up shut up shut up-_

"You looked kinda lonely out here. Mind if I take a drag?" 

"Sure." Zelda passed her cigarette to Lilith, who took the little golden ring it was kept in and examined it.

"This is pretty. It suits you."

Zelda laughed. "Why?" 

Lilith grinned impishly. "Because you're pretty. Surely you don't need me to tell you that."

Zelda felt a deep blush crawl up her chest and neck. She sat beside Lilith on the swing, leaving a small space between them. Crickets chirped in the night, punctuating the charged silence. They sat for a moment before Zelda looked up to meet Lilith's eyes, peering intently at her from behind a mesh of inky curls. She sighed. Ice water flooded her chest, thinking about the boy waiting for her inside. She wanted to forget that she had once agreed to kiss him, years and years ago. She wanted to forget how wrong it felt to exist in her body, and focus instead on how strange and wonderful it felt to be sitting beside a girl who shared her cigarettes and thought she was pretty. The girls dancing inside were all so in love with their boyfriends, gazing into their eyes and moving in slow circles on the ugly carpet that smelled like stale smoke and cheap beer. Looking at them Zelda felt, as she had many times before, that there was something missing in her, some ineffable _thing_ that prevented her from enjoying the scratchiness of stubble and the stench of sweat and the deep growl of their voices. 

Lilith wasn't like that. Her voice was tinkly and musical, interwoven with a breathy raspiness that emerged when she relaxed. Her long hair smelled like jasmine blossoms. Zelda reached up suddenly and twisted a strand of it between her fingers, enjoying its wiry roughness. She was surprised at her own boldness, but something about the girl sitting beside her made her feel brave.

The first notes of one of her favourite songs slinked out through the window, and Zelda took a last drag of her cigarette. It was still in the holder that now sat on Lilith's forefinger, and the ash fell in a little pile between their thighs. She held out her hand. "Will you dance with me?"

Lilith breathed out slowly, eyes sparkling. "Okay." She stood up quickly, pulling Zelda from the swing and gripping her tightly at the waist with one hand and at the shoulder with the other. They moved deliberately to the beat, reveling in the electric friction of their bodies as they swayed. What felt like a small eternity passed between them. Finally, Lilith laid her head down on Zelda's shoulder in a gesture that was also a question. Zelda pulled away slightly and tilted Lilith's chin up with her free hand, answering with a deep kiss that tasted of cigarettes and wine and made her head spin. The muffled music swelled and broke, at once nostalgic and hopeful, and Zelda smiled, feeling Lilith's soft lips against her teeth. Her partner giggled, and they broke apart slightly. Lilith looked at her expectantly. "Want to go inside and keep dancing?"

Zelda nodded and smiled. "I really do." 


End file.
